A subwoofer is among the speakers that form the backbone of your entire audio or home theater system.

According to most avid HI-FI connoisseurs, this speaker has tremendous strength that allows it to capture the lowest of audible frequencies to produce deep bass tones that keep you at the edge of your seat.

While the subwoofer was hailed for its impressive sonic benefits back in the days, the new technology has remodeled it into a brilliant piece of technological marvel to feature right at the comfort of your home.

This has led to the birth of the home theater system that comprises of several aerial speakers and a powerful bass subwoofer to give you a mix of low-frequency sounds and high pitched frequencies to enhance your listening experience.

Combining the high definition images projected by your screen with the deep surround sound emanating around you, movie enthusiasts will enjoy the best sound effects when watching their favorite movies and TV series.

But, how are you likely to have an incredible cinematic experience when you barely know how to shop for the best home subwoofer? With so many brands and models available, you’re likely to get overwhelmed and face a tough time deciding what to buy.

Thankfully, this guide has come to your rescue and has done the homework for you by digging deep into the world of home subwoofers to highlight key factors you need to consider before making a move. Please read on to find out.

This is generally the first factor you have to think of when shopping for a home subwoofer. In fact, it’s one of the inevitable factors because your subwoofer will need to be placed somewhere once you’ve purchased it.

Now, if you happen to ask most people about the best subwoofer placement, most are likely to recommend you to place it anywhere provided it’s not being used as a table.

The truth of the matter, however, is that subwoofers need to be placed in a precise listening position which in this case is in the front of the room either on the right or left corners.

Since it’s tricky to get the perfect deep bass tones, you need to play some tracks with deep bass lines then try adjusting the position of the subwoofer to locate a precise location where the sub can produce consistent and more natural base tones.

Once the sub is in a precise location, the next thing you’ll need to think of is the satellite or the midrange speakers.Remember, to have the best surround sound music experience, the bass speaker must blend well with the satellite speakers.

To do this, you’ll need to lower the subwoofer sound level then increase the level of the satellite speakers to see how they’re doing.

If you’re impressed with the quality of sound produced, then you can go ahead to increase the level of the sub. Here, you need to adjust the bass and the sound of the surround speakers very carefully to find the smoothest transition of the two.

Now, supposing one subwoofer isn’t enough and you’re thinking of adding a second one?

Well, in this case, you’ll need to ensure that your home theater receiver has an RCA output to allow it to host a second sub into your home theater system.

The best thing about the dual-sub setup is that it improves bass distribution in your living room hence the best for homes with large rooms.

Once you’ve figured out the proper placement, the second factor you’ll need to put tremendous effort into is the type of subwoofer you’ll be looking to buy.

Thankfully, the home theater setup comprises of two main speaker systems that are the passive and powered subwoofers.

Passive Subwoofers

Now, passive subwoofers on their side are called “passive” because they rely on an external amplifier to reproduce low-frequency sounds. Since they use the same setup fashion as traditional loudspeakers, these types of subwoofers are quite rare to find in most home theater systems especially the latest models.

During set up, a passive subwoofer will demand that you add a powerful amplifier between the sub and the home theater’s receiver. This will allow the amp to feed the sub with immense power to sustain the high bass effects it produces without draining the home theater receiver’s power in the process. The amount of power needed to feed a passive subwoofer will depend on the size of the room, the sub’s wattage, and how hungry you are to disturb your neighbors.

Powered Subwoofers

When it comes to powered subwoofers, this type of setup is considered the best for home theater systems as it’s the easiest to deal with. Also known as an active subwoofer, this type of sub contains in-built amplification units that simplify the multiple wiring on a passive subwoofer setup to just a single cable connection running from the sub to the home theater’s receiver.

While passive subwoofers rely on external amps, powered subwoofers utilize their own optimally matched amplifiers that are in-built and encased in the same enclosures. This type of set up acts as a huge advantage to the home theater receiver as it helps to shoulder some of the subwoofer’s load to relieve it from the massive audio power load it has to bear. This way, the receiver can concentrate on the satellite speakers to adjust the quality of the cross-over frequency for a smooth transition.

One of the burning questions most HI-FI enthusiasts ask when buying a new subwoofer or replacing an old one is whether to choose a subwoofer with a sealed or a ported cabinet. In fact, this question has sparked up a major debate in most home audio forums and blogs especially following numerous myths and generalizations revolving around the topic.

Sealed Subwoofers

Just as the name suggests, a sealed subwoofer has an enclosed cabinet that doesn’t allow air to get in or out. This type of setup has tremendous effects on the quality of sound produced, playback levels, room size, and the visual impact of your home theater system. When it comes to sound quality, sealed subwoofers are considered the best. That’s because of their accurate frequency response that moves air a little quicker to allow soundwaves to reach your ears in a slightly more coherent manner.

This means that the sound produced is more clear and articulate with less perceived overhaul. In fact, this is a major benefit that has allowed sealed subwoofers to be considered for critical music applications such as using them in playing guitars and other acoustic instruments. While ported subwoofers produce intense deep bass effects, sealed subwoofers produce accurate sounds with transient speeds making the sound produced by a bass guitar to sound as natural as possible.

Ported Subwoofers

Ported subwoofers on the other hand are designed with one or more air vents to allow the sub to reinforce low bass output. Now, the psychology behind this type of setup is quite straightforward. With a ported enclosure, you’re likely to get powerful bass with deeper octaves without demanding an additional EQ boost.

This results in additional peak dynamic output that’s 3-4X more than that of a sealed subwoofer with a similar RMS rating. Simply put, if you’re looking to enjoy a room-energizing, chest thumbing and floor trembling cinematic experience, then a ported subwoofer is exactly what you need to get.

But, before you can proceed, you need to understand that there’s always a tradeoff here. Although ported subwoofers offer the much-needed power, their cabinets are likely to get incredibly larger as compared to their sealed counterparts. The quality of sound reproduced is also slightly inaudible due to the low bass output they generate.

When shopping for a subwoofer, you’re likely to pick one model in the middle of million-plus models. What you might not have realized is that home subwoofers are further split into two major categories that are the front-firing and down-firing variants. If you’re new to this, then I believe you must be wondering what these two terms mean and which between the two will work for you.

Just as its name suggests, a front-firing subwoofer has a speaker driver pointing to the front allowing it to radiate sound towards the front or side of the subwoofer enclosure. With this type of setup, the sound generated is pushed directly towards the listener. On the other hand, a down-firing subwoofer employs a system where the speaker driver is mounted at the bottom allowing it to radiate sound downwards towards the floor.

Now that you’re aware of the physics between these two subwoofer setups, I’ll now discuss briefly on which type of subwoofer will work well for you. But before that, you need to understand that subwoofers are very different from satellite, stereo, and mid-range speakers. While the latter produce high-frequency directional sound, the former (subwoofers) reproduce low-frequency non-directional sound that’s quite hard for your ears to localize.

This fact brings us to the conclusion that subwoofers can be placed nearly anywhere without affecting the quality of the sound produced. This, therefore, means that the quality of sound produced by both front-firing and down-firing subwoofers is almost indistinguishable.

However, slight differences can be evidenced based on how you’re planning to set up your subwoofer. For instance, if you’re planning to place your sub next to your TV, then a front-firing sub can be the best alternative. That’s because these drivers produce crisp sounds with speed, clarity, and precise intonation.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to place your subwoofer besides the wall or in the corner of a room, then a down-firing driver is the best to consider. These drivers take advantage of the floor which is used as a resonating surface to produce more intense bass sounds.

When shopping for a home subwoofer, size is one factor that matters a lot. As a rule of thumb, the larger the surface area a speaker driver has, the deeper the bass it can produce. In addition, you’ll need more energy (amplification power) to feed such a subwoofer to work at peak power.

Now, according to physics, low-frequency extension and sound pressure level (SPL) are two additional factors that affect the quality of a subwoofer besides the driver size. So, what this means is that a home subwoofer with a bigger speaker driver, let’s say 15-18 inches, has the potential to produce deeper bass with greater SPL.

On the other hand, a subwoofer with a smaller speaker driver, let’s say 6-8 inches, will deliver great sound but with lower bass intensity. Now, although it’s quite surprising to mention, SPL, driver size, and low-frequency extension aren’t the only factors that affect the performance of your subwoofer. Other silent factors such as the subwoofer motor, the amplifier, and the subwoofer’s ability to blend with the available mid-range speakers can play a key role in the accuracy and the speed in transients your sub can achieve.

Therefore, as far as the size of the subwoofer driver is concerned, all the factors I’ve mentioned above will need to be inspected carefully to ensure that you get a balanced subwoofer that’s capable of producing accurate bass without struggling.

It’s true to mention that technology has come to shoulder most of the burden that analog technology has forced us to bear. But, when it comes to wireless technology in the modern home subwoofer units, there’s a heated debate that demands serious attention.

You see, most traditional home theaters and hi-fi subwoofers rely on a wired connection to transmit audio signals from the sub to the receiver. But, with the advancement in technology, newer subwoofer models, especially those with soundbars, have introduced a more brilliant wireless technology that has freed us from the chaos of wires running from one corner of your living room to the other. But, what are the benefits and drawbacks of these two home subwoofer technologies?

Wireless Subwoofers

Now, one of the greatest benefits of wireless subwoofers is, you named it, they’re wireless. This means that you won’t have to deal with cables which can be annoying if you have curious kids around. Additionally, cables are susceptible to damage by rodents, roaches, and dust which can end up ruining the quality of sound produced.

Another chief advantage with wireless systems is that they’re incredibly versatile meaning they can be placed almost anywhere within the room provided there’s a source of power. They can also be hooked up via Bluetooth or WIFI giving you a chance to listen to your favorite playlists from any device of your choice.

When it comes to the drawbacks, one primary concern most hi-fi enthusiasts have raised is the quality of sound produced. In this case, wireless subwoofers tend to produce lower quality sound that’s likely to worsen when you increase the sound.

Another major drawback with wireless home subwoofers is the fact that they deny you control over-amplification and conversion. This means that adding an external component to the speaker setup will be almost impossible.

The last drawback is the issue to do with power. Here, you need to ensure that your subwoofer is placed near a power source if you’re looking to enjoy uninterrupted music.

However, I must confess that most manufacturers dealing with wireless audio systems are striving to close the audio quality gap between wired and wireless audio systems. With enhanced driver technology, improved WIFI/Bluetooth technology, and better power management, wireless home subwoofers will soon match the quality of their wired counterparts.

Wired Subwoofers

When it comes to wired home subwoofers, there are several key benefits music connoisseurs are likely to enjoy. One of those is gaining full control over the entire audio system. You see, to enjoy crisp, high-quality music, an amplifier and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) will need to come in between the receiver and the subwoofer.

This way, the DAC will convert digital sounds into analog sounds before the amplifier creeps in to boost this analog signal into high-quality sound.

Another huge benefit of a wired subwoofer is the easy connecting process. Although you have to deal with multiple wires, merging your home subwoofer system with the receiver and the amplifier is not a complex procedure.

When it comes to the downsides, chief among them is the annoying wiring. Yes, this is really annoying because you have to figure out how to run the cables throughout your surround sound speakers without making the living room untidy.

Another key factor that demands tremendous attention when choosing a home subwoofer is the crossover frequency. Now, what exactly is a subwoofer crossover frequency? Well, in simple terms, this is the frequency in which your mid-range speakers begin to roll off and the subwoofer immediately kicks in to output bass notes and LFEs.

Earlier on, we mentioned that each speaker in your home theater system is designed to handle a certain frequency. For instance, your front or surround speakers are designed to handle high frequencies while the subwoofer is designed to handle low frequencies. Therefore, for you to enjoy balanced music, the subwoofer must coordinate with front speakers something that’s achievable by adjusting the crossover point.

If you’re using a modern AV receiver with a built-in EQ, then the system can automatically adjust the crossover frequency based on the capabilities of your speakers. However, if you’re adjusting the crossover using an AV processor or a preamplifier, then here’s a simple procedure you might wish to follow.

First, you’ll have to set the crossover frequency of your speakers which in most cases ranges from 100Hz to 20kHz. If you’re unaware of your speakers’ crossover frequency, then you can try using a subwoofer matching tool to find out.
Next, play a music track with a high base content. Lower the volume of the subwoofer then start increasing it slowly.
Pay maximum attention to the smooth transitioning of the surround speakers and the subwoofer to ensure the sound is blending well without any of them overpowering the other.

If you have successfully done that, then congratulations! You’ve just configured the crossover to effectively match your subwoofer’s low frequency with your front speakers’ high-frequency sounds.

Now, if you’re a potential home subwoofer buyer thinking outside the box, then I believe at some point you might have asked yourself whether to go for a single muscular subwoofer or consider two or four less muscular subwoofers. The answer to this question is pretty simple. More subwoofers mean more and better bass.

Now, let’s take an example of a muscular 15-inch driver vs two 12-inch smaller drivers. The former is likely to deliver a commanding deep bass extension as compared to the latter 12-inch drivers. However, though the 15-inch driver has won in the deep bass category, it has failed to consistently deliver smoother and better-defined bass in a wide range of listening positions throughout the room.

That’s caused by standing waves that tend to boost the bass reproduced by the single subwoofer at certain points and cancel it at other points within the room. Although we mentioned earlier that low-frequency sounds are non-directional, using one subwoofer can make your ears to easily locate the position of the subwoofer.

When it comes to two or more subwoofers, things are a little bit different. First, the deep bass reproduced is smooth and well defined. It’s also evenly distributed throughout the room preventing you from experiencing those peaks and dips that occur when using a single subwoofer. Besides, dual subwoofers deliver balanced bass that makes it difficult for your ears to determine the location of the subwoofers.

The last factor you’ll have to consider when choosing a home subwoofer is how to set it up. Here, we will discuss two major factors which are; connecting the subwoofer to the receiver and choosing the right location to set it up.

Now, when connecting your subwoofer to the receiver, you only need to plug one end of the RCA cable to the line-in port at the back of your sub then the other end at the back of your receiver or amp. When you’re done, you can now connect the power cable.
When you’re done, you’ll need to calibrate your home subwoofer to ensure that you get quality sound from both the sub and the surround speakers. If your receiver has an automatic room correction system, then it can calibrate automatically. However, in case it doesn’t have an automatic calibration system, then you’ll have to do it manually using this procedure.

First, go to your receiver’s settings menu and try to access the speaker setup option. Here, you’ll need to set the surround speakers to “small” command option to give the subwoofer more command over the low-frequency sounds.
By setting the speaker size using the above procedure, you’ll manage to set the crossover frequency automatically. However, in case you need to fine-tune it to get excellent sound quality, then you’re free to do that.
The third step is to adjust the phase switch. Located at the back of your subwoofer, this switch has two settings (0° and 180°) that allow you to sync both the subwoofer and the surround speakers together to make the sound quality more uniform.

Once you’re through with the setup process, the next step is to position your subwoofer in a strategic location within the living room. Although the low frequency sounds reproduced by a subwoofer are non-directional, it’s easy to tell the difference between a perfectly positioned subwoofer and a poorly positioned one.

While some people prefer placing the subwoofer towards the wall, others prefer placing it on the corner or in front near the TV. The best way to find a perfect placement option is by moving around the room until you find a spot that offers an exciting bass response.

So, there you have it. As you can see, there are lots of critical factors you need to consider when shopping for a home subwoofer. Although there are lots of technical specifications you need to endure, everything melts down to your room’s characteristics and your own personal preferences.

The next time you visit your local outlet store or your favorite online shopping platform to buy a home subwoofer, I’m confident you’ll be in a position to make an informed decision based on what I’ve discussed in this guide.